The Lion King

(photo curtesy of Gene)

Last night Steve and I took my parents to see The Lion King at the Capitol Theatre. Well, technically they were driving, but we gave my dad tickets for his birthday back in March. So we have been waiting what seems like FOREVER to actually get to see the musical.

The Lion King has a special place in my heart. Not because it is amazing, and it is, or because it is a favorite childhood movie, which it also is, but because Steve and I saw this musical on our honeymoon in New York just shy of 6 years ago.

As we were sitting there watching this amazing production, I couldn't help but think back to when we saw it the last time. I remembered all those feelings of being newly married. Sitting next to the man I loved. And being in NYC! It was completely amazing and unbelievable.

Steve had surprised me with our honeymoon. I had thought that we were going to Jackson Hole. Then, as we approached the counter to check in our bags the gal at the desk asked us where we were traveling today. I quickly answered Jackson Hole and Steve quickly corrected me with New York. I looked at him in utter shock! What? We are going where??? I was beyond excited. This man knew me. I think I fell in love all over again in that second. (If there was any more love to have felt, that is. I was already pretty in love).

Our honeymoon couldn't have been more perfect. Hotel in Times Square. Walks in Central Park. Visiting all the sights. Sacs Fifth Avenue at Christmas time. The lights, the snow. It was perfect. The Lion King was one of the major highlights of the trip. We had fabulous seats and the show was of course amazing. I loved sharing that with him.

Last night was no different. The production was so fun. I think I was even more entranced this time than I was last time. Such beautiful backdrops and costumes. Such great acting. And I got to share it with my baba.

A fun night. A night to remember.

Quotology

THE BIG 5-0!

This post has really been a long time coming! I can't believe it has taken me so long to actually get it up here. It was the focus of all of my thoughts, time and energy for a very long time. There were so many times I wanted to write about it but I knew my mom was reading and it would spill the beans so I had to keep it all to myself and save it for now...

Happy 50th Birthday MOM!!!

My beautiful mother turned 50 this year. Isn't that amazing? You'd never guess it by looking at her, but its true.

My mom does everything for everyone. I'm not exaggerating here. She really does. She is involved in so many women's lives it isn't even funny. Whenever people need help with a party, shower, reception, whatever, they call her and she doesn't hesitate to help. If she doesn't have the answer for something she finds it out. If it is something that she can't do personally, she finds someone who can. It's just the way she is. So when I realized this was her big birthday year, I knew we had to go all out.

Lets turn the pages back a few months. It's March. I had just had a baby six weeks prior and I'm sitting at my parents house and trying to figure out how to ask my dad if we can throw my mom a crazy birthday party. I didn't know if he would be up for it. Not just the party part, but the secret part. I knew if we threw a party it had to be a secret. If it wasn't, my mom wouldn't be able to sit back and let us do this for her, or rather, I couldn't do it without her help if I knew I could have it!

I finally got up the nerve and told my dad what I had in mind. The first thing he said was that we should keep it low-key. Low-key was not what I had in mind. So I tried again to explain what I wanted to do and why I thought we should do it. He half heartedly agreed and said we should get some food from a local restaurant and have family over for dinner. Again, not what I had in mind. I tried to nicely say that, and let it go. I didn't know if it was going to happen the way I had imagined.

A month passes and I can't tell you the number of times my mom tells me that this year is her 50th birthday, in case I didn't realize it. She also told me that my dad had told her he wasn't up for a big thing this year so she shouldn't get her hopes up. I wanted my dad to keep it a secret not get her depressed. Guys are so good at this stuff, huh? You could tell my mom was disappointed. I talked to my dad again with the help of my brother he agreed that we should really do something great for my mom. He handed over the reigns and let me begin really planning the party.



It took me 2 months to make all of the decorations, create, label and mail the invitations, plan, calculate and order the food. It was way more of a feet than I ever imagined it would be. It seemed like something new would pop up every day. My dad had me invite about 180 people. I felt like I was throwing a reception. I had no idea what I was doing and I was very nervous about the whole thing.



We decided to serve desserts, as it is summer, we were going to be outside, and there were a lot of poeple expected. So I ordered cupcakes from Dippidee, Cookies from Smart Cookie, Eclaires and Sheet Cake from Schmidts Bakery. I bought cream puff balls from Costco, and some friends of my mother brought fresh fruit. We had a fantastic spread! It was so yummy!



I had a special cake made for my mom from Dippidee. If you know my mom you know she loves purses. She always has one with her and it seems like she always has a new one. She just LOVES them. So I thought this cake was particularly fitting.



The theme of the party was pinwheels. I don't remember where I got the idea but it was all-consuming. I tried to find a template to cut out the pinwheels, but I couldn't find one that I liked or that I thought would work for what I wanted to do so I ended up drawing my own. They really are pretty, but they took forever to make. I think I ended up doing 30 large pinwheels and 20 medium and 20 small. It was crazy. They were everywhere. It is a miracle that my mom didn't see them with how often she is at my house. But miraculously she didn't suspect a thing as you can see...



My dad was AMAZING! I don't know how he did it but he managed to keep this whole thing a secret, plan a fabulous birthday for her besides the party and still get back home at just the right time. As you can see by her face, she was completely surprised. I was so glad to have so many people show up for the party, want to help, and support my mom. I have to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who came and helped!



We had a few tables set up around the yard. Two held food, one held my mom's cake and a book (I'll get to that later) and another one held different jars with assorted candy. The candy was a little thank you for everyone who came. This is not a new idea, so I tried to come up with a different spin on it. This is what I came up with... I found these super cute mini paper bags and mini clothes pins (so freakin' cute). So I made some little thank you cards and attached them to the bag with the clothes pin. It was a fun little twist on an old idea.



I mentioned that one table had a book. As a special gift to my mom from my dad, Sky, and me and my family I created a book with family pictures from the last time we had them done, which luckily was less than a year ago, with space for people to write birthday wishes to her. I was nervous that no one would sign it, but I was so happy to see at the end of the night that every page was full. So many people love my mom, I shouldn't have been surprised. And now she has a special memento to keep from her big party.

Overall the party was a big hit and a ton of fun! I am so glad we did it. There were moments when I wanted to change my mind and just go to dinner like my dad had suggested, but in the end I am so glad we were able to do this big gesture for my mom.

Happy Birthday mom, I love you!

BBQ with friends

This is going to be a long one. I will give you a heads up now, I just couldn't narrow the pictures down! They are all so fun. So I had to include them. And to be honest, this isn't even all of them. Man do I love taking pictures.

When Josie suggested that we have a BBQ I was all for it! Why hadn't we done it sooner was the one question all of us were asking. It was great! Josie hosted us at her parents house. We barbequed, played, visted, and swam. Seriously a great night! The one picture I didn't get was one of the whole group! What was I thinking? Well, I wasn't really. Or else I'm sure I would have gotten one.

This is my pudgy little Toad. He is getting so round and rolly! I just love it! I love to squeeze and love on him. He is my loviest baby of all. He lets me give all the kisses I want and just smiles and holds on to me. It is the best!

Another great thing about little babies is the fact that you can set them down while you are doing something else and you don't have to worry about them getting into mischief. Cache is the best for this. He is also my happiest baby... Did someone know I needed his this time around? I think so. He just played and covered his eyes while he tried to fall asleep as Steve and I prepared plates and food for the other wild ones.

Meet Millie. Maybe you already have. Well, if you haven't it is time you did. She is so sweet! This is Anya's littlie. I can't get enough of her! So girlie and so fun! We finally got a picture of her and Toad. They are 3 1/2 months apart. Cache thought she was great! He kept trying to hold her hand! It was awesome.

Millie on the other hand, was pretty disinterested.

We sat down and ate our yummy BBQ dinner, and it was yummy. The kids gobbled up their food, and shared what was left with each other. Kids are just the best.

Beckham is the bravest little boy. He will do anything! He swims, climbs, makes new friends all without blinking. So friendly and happy. He thought that chip on Reagan's plate looked really yummy so he thought he would just help himself...

Millie was tuckered out after she was mauled by Cache. So she zonked in the carseat while we ate.

Cache was feeling a bit left out as we all ate so Steve grabbed him and got him giggling

After we were done eating we got our suits on and jumped in the pool. And by we I mean everyone except for me, Toad, Anya and Millie. We seemed to forget our suits. It turned out to be good because I was able to take the pictures!

Reagan went down the slide. More like, FLEW down the slide...

Luke decided to take a turn. After some proding, he flew down as well...

Crew was silly the whole night. He was so nervous. I think it was because it was so deep and he couldn't touch. Normally he can't get enough of the water. He had a death grip on Steve the whole time and nothing Steve did could get him to let go. He was the little leach on Steve's back.

Reagan was a little dare devil. She even jumped off the diving board, I think that was her favorite.

Did you notice the leach on Steves back as he was trying to help Reagan when she jumped in? I swear he didn't let go the entire night! Lukie jumped from the wall about a 100 times. I think he has maybe done that before???

Beckham is so lucky. He has a mom who does anything for him. Sometimes that includes jumping in the pool, even though the rest of the gals were sitting on the side. He needed her in there to help him out and I think Josie really loved being in there with him. I think she loves being anywhere with him.

There was only one way to get Crew to loosen his grip on Steve's shirt...

Steve had to go underwater. Crew didn't want his face to go under. So when Steve had the chance he hurried and burst out of the water and Crew went flying...

He would laugh and laugh and then grab that shirt so tight. He is a ham. Micah joined us a little later after he finished some work he had to do. Although we missed him greatly it was awesome to have him there a little later. Beckham was thrilled to see him as well.

We had such a great time! Thanks, Jo, for planning this... we all had a blast! I'll leave you with one more picture...

I am embarrased to say there are still a TON that I didn't post here. That is just how much fun we had!

Our 2010 4th of July

This year for the 4th of July we took a trip to the Lake. Steve's parents were the only ones in his family who were able to go so we stopped by the Hanks house and kidnapped Heber so we could have an on-site babysitter. It was the best idea ever! (I think he had a pretty good time too).

We really wanted to experience the 4th in St. Charles so we looked to find all of the festivities. So when we woke up, we hurried and got everyone ready, piled in the car and drove to Paris for the parade. But we found out that the parade didn't start until 1:00. So it was back in the car and home for some fun before the parade.

Anina and I drove to Mont Pilier to find a farmers market that we read about. After driving around for 45 minutes we decided to cut our losses and just go to the grocery store. We stocked up on some yummies and drove back to Paris to meet the fam for the parade. They had found a fab spot and we got there just as the parade was starting.

The kids were very excited. Crew couldn't wait to get his hands on some candy! He doesn't quite get the idea that he should put the candy in a bag and save it for later. He thinks every piece of candy he grabs should be eaten immediately. Not that I blame him, but in the mean time Reagan's bag continues to grow and his stays empty. He may not see that as a problem at the time, but as soon as we get home he thinks its a BIG problem.








Grandma and Grandpa Diederich joined in on the fun. It was so fun to have them there. Grandpa stayed back to observe all the craziness that comes with a parade.



Grandma is more hands on. She was helping the kids get candy off the ground. She was making sure that our little toad was covered so he didn't get a sunburn.



The kids loved everything about the parade. And I loved that they loved it. Steve took control of the camera for the event. I must say he did a fabulous job and I am planning on handing it off to him more often.





After the parade was over we went back to the compound for some lunch and water fun. It was a beautiful day! So sunny and warm. The best part was that some clouds rolled in at around 3:00 and showered us for about 30 minutes then cleared up again. Perfect.



As the evening started to approach the temperature started to drop. So we bundled ourselves up, grabbed a bunch of blankets and drove out to Mont Pilier for the firework show. It was FREEZING! I don't know how it went from perfect to so freaking cold, but we didn't want to miss the big show so we suffered through and were able to see a fun show. The fireworks are actually lit about 10 yards from where we were sitting so it was pretty cool. Here is my check list for our firework escapade...



The weekend was a hit! Love this time of year and the fun we get to have together.